11081479

Integrated Circuit Layout with Asymmetric Metal Lines

PublishedAugust 3, 2021
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Patent Claims
20 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a first group of semiconductor fins extending along a first direction and arranged at a first fin-to-fin spacing; a second group of semiconductor fins extending along the first direction and arranged at a second fin-to-fin spacing, the second group of semiconductor fins being separated from the first group of semiconductor fins by a fin-free region larger than the first fin-to-fin spacing and the second fin-to-fin spacing; a first gate structure extending across the first group of semiconductor fins, the fin-free region, and the second group of semiconductor fins along a second direction different from the first direction; and a Vdd line and a Vss line extending along the first direction over the first gate structure, wherein the first group of semiconductor fins and the second group of semiconductor fins are between the Vdd line and the Vss line from a top view, and an overlapping area between the Vdd line and the first group of semiconductor fins is different from an overlapping area between the Vss line and the second group of semiconductor fins from the top view.

2

2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the overlapping area between the Vdd line and the first group of semiconductor fins is greater than the overlapping area between the Vss line and the second group of semiconductor fins from the top view.

3

3. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the overlapping area between the Vss line and the second group of semiconductor fins is greater than the overlapping area between the Vdd line and the first group of semiconductor fins from the top view.

4

4. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the Vdd line and the Vss line have different widths.

5

5. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the Vdd line is wider than the Vss line from the top view.

6

6. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the Vss line is wider than the Vdd line from the top view.

7

7. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising: a plurality of first metal lines extending on the same level as the Vdd line and the Vss line, the plurality of first metal lines non-overlapping both the first group of semiconductor fins and the second group of semiconductor fins.

8

8. The semiconductor device of claim 7 , further comprising: a first gate contact electrically connecting the first gate structure to one of the plurality of first metal lines.

9

9. The semiconductor device of claim 8 , further comprising: a second gate structure extending across the first group of semiconductor fins, the fin-free region, and the second group of semiconductor fins along the second direction; and a second gate contact electrically connecting the second gate structure to another of the plurality of first metal lines.

10

10. The semiconductor device of claim 7 , further comprising: at least one second metal line extending on the same level as the Vdd line and the Vss line, the at least one second metal line being between the Vdd line and the plurality of first metal lines; and at least one third metal line extending on the same level as the Vdd line and the Vss line, the at least one third metal line being between the Vss line and the plurality of first metal lines, wherein a number of the at least one second metal line is different from a number of the at least one third metal line.

11

11. A semiconductor device, comprising: a first group of semiconductor fins and a second group of semiconductor fins extending along a first direction and spaced apart by a fin-free region; a first gate structure and a second gate structure extending across the first group of semiconductor fins, the fin-free region, and the second group of semiconductor fins along a second direction different from the first direction; a first metal line and a second metal line extending within the fin-free region along the first direction; a first gate contact overlapping an intersection of the first metal line and the first gate structure from a top view; a second gate contact overlapping an intersection of the second metal line and the second gate structure from the top view; and a Vdd line and a Vss line extending on the same level as the first and second metal lines, wherein the Vdd line is adjacent the first group of semiconductor fins, the Vss line is adjacent the second group of semiconductor fins, and the Vdd line and the Vss line have different widths.

12

12. The semiconductor device of claim 11 , wherein the width of the Vdd line is greater than the width of the Vss line.

13

13. The semiconductor device of claim 11 , wherein the width of the Vss line is greater than the width of the Vdd line.

14

14. The semiconductor device of claim 11 , further comprising: a plurality of first source/drain contacts extending across the first group of semiconductor fins, wherein both the first and second metal lines non-overlap the plurality of first source/drain contacts.

15

15. The semiconductor device of claim 14 , further comprising: a plurality of second source/drain contacts extending across the second group of semiconductor fins, wherein both the first and second metal lines also non-overlap the plurality of second source/drain contacts.

16

16. The semiconductor device of claim 15 , further comprising: a plurality of source/drain vias over the plurality of the second source/drain contacts, respectively; and a third metal line extending on the same level as the first and second metal lines and overlapping the plurality of source/drain vias.

17

17. The semiconductor device of claim 14 , further comprising: a plurality of source/drain vias over the plurality of the first source/drain contacts, respectively; and a third metal line extending on the same level as the first and second metal lines and overlapping the plurality of source/drain vias.

18

18. A method, comprising: generating, in a layout, a first group of fin layout patterns and a second group of fin layout patterns extending along a first direction, the first group of fin layout patterns and the second group of fin layout patterns being symmetric about a symmetric axis; generating, in the layout, a plurality of gate layout patterns extending along a second direction across the first group of fin layout patterns and the second group of fin layout patterns, the second direction being different from the first direction; generating, in the layout, a plurality of metal line layout patterns extending along the first direction across the plurality of gate layout patterns, the metal line layout patterns being asymmetric about the symmetric axis of the first group of fin layout patterns and the second group of fin layout patterns; and fabricating a semiconductor device based on the layout.

19

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising: generating, in the layout, a first gate contact layout pattern overlapping an intersection of a first gate layout pattern of the plurality of gate layout patterns and a first metal line layout pattern of the plurality of metal line layout patterns; and generating, in the layout, a second gate contact layout pattern overlapping an intersection of a second gate layout pattern of the plurality of gate layout patterns and a second metal line layout pattern of the plurality of metal line layout patterns, wherein both the first and second metal line layout patterns non-overlap the first group of fin layout patterns and the second group of fin layout patterns.

20

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising: generating, in the layout, a plurality of first source/drain contact layout patterns extending along the second direction across the first group of fin layout patterns; and generating, in the layout, a plurality of second source/drain contact layout patterns extending along the second direction across the second group of fin layout patterns, wherein both the first and second metal line layout patterns non-overlap the plurality of first source/drain contact layout patterns and the plurality of second source/drain contact layout patterns.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

August 3, 2021

Inventors

Wei-Hsin TSAI
Jung-Chan YANG
Ting-Yu CHEN
Li-Chun TIEN

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Cite as: Patentable. “INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LAYOUT WITH ASYMMETRIC METAL LINES” (11081479). https://patentable.app/patents/11081479

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